Monday, June 15, 2009

Bloodstains in the Studio

Call me crazy, but I could listen to "murder, murder, kill, kill" music all day. It's like watching some urban-slasher movie, & all it's sequels. Complete with gratuitous violence, illicit sex, & random chaos. For my buck, I want anarchist bedlam. BTW, Friday the 13th is my favorite horror movie franchise (even though the last one blow nads).

In Hip Hop, we had a little romp with that theory, called Horror-core. Ugh, I hate sub-genres. They're like calling someone your "third cousin". What's the point? So, the whole horror/rap hybrid failed miserably. Maybe if they just called it what it was, Hip Hop, then it might not have gotten so much attention. Or negative light. The most famous act born of this experiment was "Gravediggaz", who collectively weren't that famous at all. As solo artists, they're were somewhat successful, but that was when they were doing their own thing, navigating their own lane(s), overseeing their own destiny(s), per se. Not performing awkwardly disturbing lyrics that sounded cheesy & contrived together. Of course, the lesser known acts that were lumped into this category were rapping about having sex with babies & eating their mothers' hearts long before some douche in an office decided that this was "it". Shout outs to Brother Lynch Hung, Natas, Bushwick Bill & the ilk.

Now, there's a very thin line between (for lack of a current term) horror rap & gangsta rap. On one hand, both involve senseless murders, often unnecessarily violent. Both always include sex, at some point, whether it's before, after or during said murders, & both seem to be some animal instinct being tapped for survival of the fittest. Yet & still, both are extremely entertaining to those of us who know how to stop & smell life's roses.

There was a scene in Friday the 13th, Part 2 I think, where this kid in a wheelchair was trying to "run" (npi) from Jason. Jason grabbed the boy's head, strapped it to a tree & twisted the belt he used until the pressure caused the boy's head to pop. It was fantastic! I know that if I was forced to actually watch something like that in real time, I'd throw up until my body shriveled, wilted & rigomortis'd. But, that's the beauty of entertainment. You know its not real. I'd rather watch that nonsense than Chicken George lose a foot, or Celie shave Mister anyday.

This is why I'm bumping "old" 50 Cent & "new" Eminem so much right now. All the hype surrounding 50 vs Rick Ross made me revisit the 50 who didn't care about the hoes dancing. He had a problem with everybody, thus, everybody had to get shot the f#ck up. You can't argue with a bulletproof supervillian with a chip on his shoulder. Get Rich Or Die Trying is a masterpiece. That's Gangsta, indeed. As for Eminem, I stopped listening after the Marshall Mathers LP. To me, he got way too close to the real life struggles I endure on a regular basis, like hating my mom & battling addiction. I prefer him decapitating bullies & such. But, he came full circle with "Relapse". Its entertaining, idiotic & completely void of any realness.

Uncut entertainment.

That's what it's about. Bill collectors & baby momma's keep it real enough for me. When it comes to my Hip Hop, I want it to be as far from actuality as possible.

Keep up the good work, guys.

1 comment:

anutha_level said...

man...that friday the 13th scene was indeed some sic shyt, don't think i'd throw up tho bein that i'm a combat medic who's been to iraq...yet in still a dope way to kill someone nonetheless. great points about reality tho, that's the TRUE purpose of music in my opinion...to take you away from life, 4-5 minutes at a time.